Isa and Runes
by The Violet Flames of Moonlight
Summary: Lea "stumbles across" a mysterious book and alerts Isa to its existence. After reading through a few things, they soon discover that there's much more to this book than they originally thought, and it has a dangerous secret. Contains OoC Ienzo and slightly OoC Lea. Title may change if I can think of a better one
1. Runes

**A/N: Due to me trying to sort out continuity errors in this (because when writing I didn't have access to my WHOLE fic most of the time), I've made Lea call Isa "Moon" or "Blue" when he's not being as serious as he could be; this also helps remove my "Isa!" content which could get annoying too, and sometimes Lea's eyes will randomly switch between green and blue (some days when I try to remember him, I think of Tyrell (his sprite especially))**

"Hey, Blue!" Lea yelled, jumping up and down and waving him over. Isa rolled his green eyes and turned to gaze coldly at his redheaded friend, stunned to see him even more fiery than usual. "Quit hollering, Lea! I'm worried that the residents wont be happy to catch you breaking and entering. Did you find something?" Lea nodded enthusiastically, his head of red hair dancing like flames as it bobbed, and Isa couldn't help but smile at the sight. "Do you still have that Tiger's Eye or whatever it is you called it?" Sighing, Isa held out the dark green stone. "It's a _Cat's _Eye, Lea – you know that _you_ own the Tiger's Eye. This better be important." Again Lea vigorously nodded, almost smacking him with a thick, brown, leather-bound book in the process. Swiftly dodging the accidental strike, Isa scowled and snatched it from his hands, carefully opening the tome. He cared more for books than his own companion, sometimes. His finger followed the movement of his eyes on the page, scrolling down the index until it stopped at a single word. _Isa. _Eyes widening with stunned curiosity, he flipped to the page that his friend had previously been observing. The first thing shown was a large picture of a stone the same colour and shape as the one he now held in his hand, only with a strange white symbol carved into the surface. His mind began to wander until he broke himself out of it, focusing his attention on reading the passage.

_Isa. Ice. The creeping darkness that chilled to the bone, manifesting into cold hearts. There is no room for sentimentality or self-delusion, no time to play the fool. Symbolized by the cat's eye, keen and observant, Isa is most at home at night – especially in the moonlight. Those who are weak will fall prey to Isa, paralysed with fear at the eternal nothingness. Isa the strong, beautiful and deadly, brimming with excellence, the bridge between worlds. Survival of the fittest, the brightest, the _strongest. _When life is at a standstill, review the past to unlock the future. I wait, and the mystery within is contained and revealed. Should one have need of Isa, said one knows the way._

"Moon. Mooooon. _Blue!" _Isa snapped out of his trance at Lea's persistent calling of his nicknames, inhaling sharply. "Something wrong, man?" Shaking his head more to clear it than deny Lea's concern, he unzipped his hoodie and dropped the tome down his front, immediately redoing it. "Hey! You can't _take _it! That's against the law!" Isa snorted in derision, sharply replying "_that's _rich, coming from the person most likely to become a felon later in life!" Lea snorted, giving his arm a soft punch before turning to leave. "Let's go. C'mon! Before they catch us!" The boys ran out of the basement, Isa clutching his stomach where he kept the tome.

"I can't believe you took it!" Lea groaned, touching his forehead dramatically once they were safely in his home. Isa smirked, rolling his eyes as he retorted "I can't believe you broke into the place. What incentive did you have to break into some random's home anyway?" Nothing stirred. "Silence, Lea? That's rare for you. What's wrong?" Still no reply. "Lea?" Looking over towards his silent friend, Isa's green eyes widened in shock. Lea was downcast, staring timidly at the floor. _Lea, _timid_?! This can't be good. _Walking over, he placed a comforting hand on his companion's shoulder. "Lea, look at me. What's wrong?" A quick glance at his blue-haired friend showed hints of fear and submission in his eyes, before he lowered his gaze again. He mumbled something incomprehensible. "Sorry?" The redhead growled at him, glaring hotly. "I _said _I thought I felt something!" Isa blinked in surprise, warily scanning his friend's features while he was still looking up. "What kind of something?" With a sharp _tsk_, Lea turned his head away, eyes burning holes into the floor. "Something I can't explain. It _really _annoys me!" Chuckling, Isa pulled the tome from his jacket for the first time, sarcastically muttering "I couldn't tell." Groaning softly, Lea smacked his own face with a palm. "Enough with the sarcasm already! It's not like it's going to help our current situation!" _Current situation? Oh, right. If we get found out. _"We'll be fine, Lea. They can't get in here. Besides, I need to find out more…"

_I lie in wait and he who seeks me shall know the way… What does that even mean? _"What was that, sorry?" Lea reluctantly repeated what he'd said. "I said I admire your ability to be so studious and so… _calm_ all the time!" _Where was this coming from? _"Where are you going with this, Lea?" _Calm… like the book said… _Frowning, Lea looked away. "Nowhere. It was a compliment. You should learn to accept them, Isa." Each narrowed his green eyes, neither looking at the other. "…Been awhile since you last called be by name. Something's eating away at you, I know it. Tell me, Lea! You're my best friend and I don't know what I'd do without you – right now there's too much at stake for us both to not be here in mind, body and spirit!" The redhead blinked, opening his mouth to respond, but closed it again when nothing came to mind. "How can you sound so certain about something so enigmatic?" _Enigmatic? It seems he's taking a leaf out of my vocabulary. _"I honestly don't know…" Both gave each other another look, sighing heavily. "Guess all that's left is to start unraveling this mystery."

Isa began studying the book, and Lea ran up and down through the house, fetching him papers and writing implements, pausing to watch Isa work when he couldn't be of use to him. "Found anything yet?" Isa frowned, staring intently at the book before him, loaded quill and paper in hand. "Hard to say. There was only a single page on this _Isa_, and anything seemingly relevant is either not a page, or leads me to a dead end. I can't even get more information on my Cat's Eye." Peering over his shoulder, Lea quickly scanned the page and grinned, pointing at it. "How about this word?" Reading over it, Isa said the word _rune_ over in his mind several times before turning to the marked page.


	2. The Codex

_Rune. A glyph used to represent a letter, symbol or spell, usually carved or painted on wood, stone or crystal. _Isa subconsciously brought a hand to his chest, gripping the pendant through his shirt. _Each rune has a unique appearance and purpose, and can be used in conjunction with tarot cards to divine the future. Using a combination of runes is vital to more complex designs, and each permutation is unique and specific to, and dependent upon, the desired effect. _"Hey, Isa! Teach me about runes. Please?" Flashes whirled through Isa's mind, a white haze from behind his eyelids crackling with lightning-blue sparks, carving various runes that he vaguely recognised into his memory, despite their brevity. "Why should I?" Lea bit his lip, thinking. "Because… because then we could write letters to each other and only we'd understand them! And I'd be able to read yours!" Blue hair shook as Isa thought about this for a moment, free hand rubbing his chin, before nodding. "Guess it couldn't hurt-"  
"All _right!_" The redhead leaped for joy, doing a backflip in his excitement, ending with a fist-pump. Isa couldn't help but smile at Lea's enthusiasm. _Maybe there's hope for him after all._

"Hey, Isa! What's it say? I can't read the coveeerrrr!" the redhead whined. The bluenette snapped back "Shut up, Lea! It's just a book! Why should the title hold any relevance?" Even as he said this, he had to admit he was a little curious as to what such a strange tome could be called. Slamming it closed, he ran his fingertips over the leather-bound book, unconsciously digging his nails in as he stroked it. "Huh? That's strange… it doesn't have a nam-the Codex…" His eyes widened as the letters seemed to move, appearing out of nowhere before him. Gasping, he dropped it with a soft thud, fuchsia sparks hurling themselves from the concealed metal beneath the bindings. "What in the-" He stepped back, an outstretched arm keeping Lea behind him, forcing him back as they retreated. "Isa!" Said boy stopped, everything suddenly moving at its own speed. The air was silent, and he could do nothing but stare in astonishment. "That voice…" Isa had been almost certain it had been Lea's, save for the fact that it hadn't sounded from behind him. Staring at the book, purple sparks darkened and snatched at each other, moving together to form a cold, shimmering, indigo veil of flame resting atop the book's cover, doing no damage.

As he stared into the fire, a miniature, violet Lea turned towards him, grinning, immediately gaining his ordinary colours with the noticeable solidity of his appearance. "C'mon, Isa, let's _go!_ We're going to be late!" With that, tiny Lea turned and raced off, waving behind him as he shrank into the far reaches of the light, fading as he was extinguished. _Late for what? I can't remember… was that even a memory? _Where Lea had gone, a figure took his place, gradually emerging to reveal another familiar face. "Ven?" The blond boy grinned up at him, eyes dancing with the fire. "Isa, right? Lea told me all about you. We have to get going – you do _not _want to miss this!" He held out his hand, beaming up at them. "Well? You want to learn, don't you? Over here you can learn facts beyond your wildest imagination." Lea returned, appearing next to Ven, smiling. "Hey, Iiisaa! I know something you don't know~" he teased, smirking. "Isa! Don't do it! It might be a trap!" the real Lea called, tugging on his arm. "Hey, c'mon, man – this isn't funny!" The redhead let out a yelp as he hit the wall, sliding down it. Isa sneered, retracting the arm with which he'd flung Lea, extending the other one to grasp Ven's. Looking up, blue eyes widened as he threw himself to his feet, arm reaching for his best friend. "Don't do it, Isa! Be _smart! _You're the brains here – act upon them! _Isa!_" Turning towards Lea, Isa's face fell in horror as he saw him, eyes fearful. A silent scream tore from his throat as he lunged for his companion, mimicking Lea's gesture. Just as the redhead thought he could he could pull the bluenette to safety, Isa's hand went through his, the rest of him slowly fading in orbs of golden light. "_Isaaaaaa!_" Lea cried, lunging, falling against air. "Oof!" Grumbling, he stood up and patted himself off before turning to the book. "You _stupid_ thing! Give me back my friend! He's… He's all I have!"

Not even waiting for the sparks to die down, he gave it a vicious kick, hurling it against the wall. It fell, torn pages fluttering as it did so, creating a whirlwind of loose paper around Lea and the rest of the room. Lea's rage subsided when everything settled. Blinking in surprise, he stared in awe at the mess. "No…" he whispered, falling to his knees. "No! What-what have I _done?!_ I-it's my fault! I can't read, so I asked him to read me the title… It's my fault he's in this mess, and I _will_ fix this. I swear it…" he stood up, jamming his thumb against his chest. "On my _heart!_"


	3. The Broken Copies

_Where… am I? It's so dark… so dense… did I fade? _Isa sat up, staring at the darkness around him, head turning slowly. "Nrgh!" The bluenette rubbed his neck, massaging the tense pain from it. Off in the distance, a soft violet light shone. Shielding his eyes, Isa stood and began walking towards it. The closer he got, the larger and paler it grew. Hesitantly, he stepped through the light, pulling his collar above his nose as he started coughing, dusty air filling his lungs. He fell to his hands and knees as he was bumped from behind, a large, bulky figure offering to help him up. "Sorry, kid – didn't see ya! What's your name?" Stunned, Isa thought for moment before taking the offered hand, pulling himself up as he mumbled "my friends call me Moon…" Laughing and performing his ridiculous jape, the large man introduced himself. "I am Captain Justice, fearless defender and hero of this town!" Isa couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head at the ludicrous display and his circumstances for being there. "Where are we, anyway?" Captain Justice gave him an incredulous look. "You don't know? But surely you've been here your entire life?" Massaging his neck again, Isa kept his head down, eyes searching the dirt and grass for answers; he knew it wasn't often a good thing when someone let out the truth when in a different world. "Well, yeah, but…" Looking up, Isa beamed. "Guess I musta hit my head earlier!" With an amused look, Captain Justice started laughing, the bluenette following suit. "You're a good kid. Let ol' Cap'n Justice show ya 'round. See if we can jog ya memory, eh?" Comforted by the speech patterns, noting them as similar to Lea's with a small pang of loss and guilt, Isa nodded, allowing himself to be dragged around the fair. "This here is Disney Town! You're just in time for the annual Dream Festival! Oh, almost forgot – you dropped this." He shoved a parcel into Isa's hands, closing them over it. _What the-no… how?_ He was staring at the Codex in shock.

Lea coughed and spluttered, waving the dust away with one hand, palming his stinging eyes with the other. "Stupid books…" he grumbled. "U-u-um… e-excuse me…" A small voice sounded behind him, causing him to turn slowly. Before him was a small head topped with slate-blue bangs, a single cerulean eye peering up at him from behind the hair. "H-h-how did you get in here…? Past the… guards?" Green eyes blinked twice, a clear look of shock on his face. "Guards? I don't… There were some strange events, then when I went out of my house I was just here…" The young child continued. "Do you… even know where we are?" Red spikes bounced as their owner shook his head. "I _am_ still in Radiant Garden, right?" Young blue eyes closed and the child nodded. "We're in the palace library. No one is… allowed… down here…" Rolling his eyes, Lea nodded, pulling his scarf over his nose. "You _can_ show yourself, you know! I'm sure I'm in more trouble than you will be. I'm Lea, got it memorized?" The redhead extended his arm generously, smiling. Slowly, a hand reached out and hesitantly shook his. "I-Ienzo…" Grinning, Lea gestured toward the stacked shelves behind him. "You read?" Ienzo smiled timidly, stepping out from behind the doorway to reveal a white lab coat, loose casual clothes underneath covering his small frame. "It's the only thing I _can _do… According to everyone else…"

Lea frowned, watching Ienzo carefully hold a finger out in front of him as he used it as a cursor, reading the spines it pointed to. "Were you after anything in particular?" Green eyes hardened. "Yes… tell me what you know of the…" he hesitated, trying to recall what Isa had said. "…Codex, I think it was?" He noticed Ienzo stiffen, frozen in place, eyes wide. "Ienzo?" Lea snapped his fingers in front of the boy's face a few times, not earning a response. "Codex?" Ienzo drew in a great, shuddering breath as though surfacing after almost drowning; he was panting just as heavily, too. Blue hair shook as the boy crouched and trembled, arms over his head. "Where did you… come by that name?" The redhead looked away, trying to hide the tears he felt forming. "My…" he swallowed hard, trying again. "My best… friend… before… some stuff…" Ienzo surged upwards, tightly throwing his arms around Lea's waist, head against his chest. Lea nearly took a step back in reaction but stayed put, bringing a hand up to run it through the child's hair, comforting him. "M-may t-the heart… of f-friendship… stay true and bright, even in your darkest of times!" _Whoa! Where did _that _come from? _The teen rubbed the boy's back, realising he was crying. "Are you lonely, Ienzo?" Question hitting hard, Ienzo flinched before nodding sadly. "Hey… you can stop crying, kid. Tell ya what – you teach me to read, and I'll let you come with me when we go to get my friend back. We got a deal?" Slate-blue hair nodded, shaking Lea's hand vigorously.

"Can you start by reading these?" He pulled a scrap of paper from his shirt, handing it to Ienzo. It was covered in runes that Isa had written down for him, the respective letters beneath each one. "This is the last I have of my friend…" Carefully taking the parchment from him, the boy looked it over, scanning the code into his memory. "Interesting set of runes… Do you have the book here?" Lea nodded, reaching under his shirt in the same place Isa had stored it previously. The teen handed it to the boy, who stepped back and wrenched it open, trying not to drop it as he stood shaking. "Uh… need to sit down?" Lea asked, pointing to the wooden desk and chairs in the corner. Ienzo nodded absentmindedly, walking with Lea's guidance as he had his face to the book, carefully examining the contents. As he sat down, he jumped, dropping the book on the table. "Has it always been half blank?" _What does he mean?_ "Huh?" Green eyes flicking over the page, Lea stared in shock, realising half the text was missing. "Oh, no…"


	4. The Spirit Burner

"This way! I know someone who can help us!" Ienzo yelled, dragging Lea through corridor after corridor by the hand, the latter astounded by the intense pace. "Who could possibly help us decipher the Co-"  
"_Shhhh! Don't _say that name!" Lea blinked at the harshness of the command, stunned but legs still moving to keep up. "You share your name with an Aethyr, a little ball of flame! And your friend is ice. This _has_ to mean something important! And it's not that book he needs to know about." The blue-haired boy soon slowed his pace, breathing through his nose to steel himself despite his desperate need for air after their sprint. Sensing something dark and powerful coming from the room ahead, Lea followed suit, cautious eyes darting over the heavy steel door blocking their view. "What's-" This time Lea was silenced with a glare and a finger pushed against lips from the smaller boy, instead of the prior tone. "What? Who's there?" came a voice like stone from behind the door, cold and uncaring, it's sheer menace causing Lea to panic and shake in fright. His hand was squeezed gently for support, and Ienzo hesitantly put his free hand to his mouth. "I-it's me, Even." Even through the door he could sense the creased brow and disapproving eyes in a frown. "Are you alone, boy?" he snapped, voice now like daggers frozen with contempt. "N-no…" he admitted worriedly, and he heard the shift of fabric and heavy sigh as this "Even" got up and hobbled to the door. "I swear, if you've brought one of the guards again-"  
"He hasn't!" Lea yelled despite himself. Ienzo jumped and gave him a look between loathing, hurt and fear, causing Lea to cringe in response. "_What?! _Who is it, then?!" The door was opened with surprising ease and both boys gulped at the presence of the older man, half-hunched and half-leaning in the doorway, cold eyes calculating the distance between them before scrutinizing the new boy after a quick disapproving glance at Ienzo. Heaving another great sigh, he stood aside and motioned for them to enter his lab. "Follow my lead and keep your mouth shut; let me do all the talking." Lea silently gave a small nod at the other boy's whispered command, eyes never leaving Even's face, but never meeting his gaze.

The blond scientist glowered at Ienzo, his gaze making up for his lack of heat with its force. Lea kept his own gaze a neutral frown, aiming for impassive as he studied his situation. He could sense his new friend's desire to squirm under the cold intensity, as he himself felt, but was amazed at his determination. Ienzo was still nervous beyond imagining, he could tell, but he knew how to avoid trouble, so Lea kept quiet. "It would appear you've made a friend." The bluenette nodded in response, still unable to meet his eyes. "Tell me about him, if he won't answer me." This time the boy flinched, nibbling his lip as he contemplated his best course of action and fought his own fear for the sake of his only friend. Finally, he answered. "Neither of us are sure how he got here, but he needs help." Even frowned further, watchful eyes flicking to the boy in question before back to the bluenette. "What _kind_ of help?" Both boys gulped at his tone, Lea unsure of which emotions to place behind it. "Um… Well… You remember that research we did several months ago? When we all… experimented… to see what was possible on the topic of gaining powers?" Even frowned harder and nodded slowly, eyes flashing in recognition. "W-well… I proffer a new theory, one where the tests would only work on those whose…" he stopped, eyes going skyward, searching for the words, Even hurriedly motioning for him to continue, apparently intrigued. _That's something to watch out for – scientific curiosity is the only _proper_ emotion I've seen on him so far, and it's as scary as the rest of him!_ "…names were… somehow connected to that topic…" Jade green eyes frowned, glinting with malice, his voice barely warmer. "Yes? Well, what does this boy have to do with it?" Inhaling to steel himself for his next statement, Ienzo spoke softly. "This is Lea."

_What a bleak town_ Isa mused, frowning softly as his guide pointed out landmarks and tents, strange buildings and decorations._ Radiant Gardens was prettier._ "Now, Kid! What's on ya mind? You're spacing out more than you were!" Isa shook his head, softly shaking a light blue fringe into his face. "No, it's nothing. I'm just worried about my friend…" Captain Justice nodded solemnly, placing an overly large hand on the boy's shoulder in understanding. "Well, let's go find him! If ya got separated, he _can't _have gotten far!" Shrugging the hand off, Isa took a step forward, halting immediately when the thought struck him. "Um, actually, do you know of a quiet place where I could read alone? I just remembered something vitally important!" A little stunned, Captain Justice stepped back before nodding once, moving past him to lead the way. "Follow me!" With a curt nod, Isa followed, eventually being led to a small, yellow-green tent. Stepping inside, he gasped; it was as though he was led into yet another world. The brunette woman sitting to the far corner of the tent stood, carefully placing her book down on the small wooden table next to her and extended a pale, slender arm. "Jane, and you are?" Gingerly taking the disheveled but pretty woman's hand, Isa shook it, nodding in approval. "Isa." The woman nodded in return, grinning largely. "Another reader, huh? They seem to be _so _rare these days…" Again, the bluenette nodded, releasing her hand and bowing at the waist slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet another reader, especially one such as yourself." She smiled gently, sweeping her arm out to gesture a chair on the other side of the table. "Likewise. Now, you wished to continue reading?" Sitting down carefully, he returned the smile, sighing happily as he opened the book.

Even mumbled to himself as he tightened the bolt, hard jade eyes relentlessly staring at his experiment. "There, that should do it." Lea flexed his hand, watching the new rust-red gauntlet follow the movements of his hands. "What's that thing in the middle do?" he asked, staring at the large, pale sphere lodged in the centre of the back of the hand. "Ah! What keen eyes you have. Excellent, they should serve you well in your next life." _Next life? _the redhead thought worriedly, risking a glance at Ienzo for confirmation. Said boy shrugged, quickly averting his gaze as he seemed to shrink in on himself again. _He does that a lot… _"That, dear boy, is a spirit burner." Lea widened his eyes at his assumption of the meaning and Ienzo smiled gently and patted his arm, evidently withholding a fit of giggles. "Not what you think – it burns strong liquids," he whispered, the redhead nodding in response. "Now, I'd like to explore my hypothesis," Even continued, unaware of the interruption. "Please hold your hand out, aim it over there," he points to a large paper target set twenty feet away, "place your free hand over the back like so, and picture a ball of flame bursting from your palm towards the target." Lea did as instructed, concentrating hard enough to bring sweat to his brow that wasn't caused by fear. The bluenette snaked a small hand out and wiped his forehead with a practiced motion, withdrawing it before Lea noticed. Still focused on his task, the redhead yelped and flew backwards, a ball of fire the size of his head bursting into embers in front of where he'd just stopped. "_Fool! _I didn't tell you to throttle the silly thing!" Lea flinched, gritting his teeth and glaring at the air. Though stunned, Ienzo chipped in as Even began to snarl at his friend. "Leave him alone, Even! In a way, he succeeded! Take it or leave it, but today we proved that it _is_ possible after all! Let him eat and have a bath and rest the night, tell the guards we have your express permission not to hurt him! Let him refine his abilities in the days to come, but don't you _dare_ start lecturing him. He's done more than most would have expected from just a street rat, and may I remind you that he's succeeded where we have failed?" Glaring, Even's frown deepened even further, more-so than Lea thought possible, but he could sense a mix of emotions below the cold exterior even more intense and dangerous than his emotionlessness. "…Very well," Even managed, shaking with suppressed rage, obviously fighting to keep his voice level. "You may give him special care, but for tonight only, no longer." Ienzo nodded gratefully, rushing forward to grab a shocked Lea's unarmoured hand and they left, racing through the halls again but for a different reason.

**A/N: I had fun with the whole Spirit Burner thing. I had seriously thought something related to the supernatural when I first heard it's name over in the lab, but then it's all like "…used to burn strong liquids and alcohols, as opposed to the 'gas only' Bunsen Burner." Still had a great time, though ^_^ R&R if it suits you!**


End file.
